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Scott Freling divides his practice between working with civilian and defense contractors on traditional government contracts matters and representing buyers and sellers, including a number of private equity firms, in complex M&A deals involving a government contractor.

Mr. Freling represents contractors at all stages of the procurement process and in their dealings with federal, state, and local government customers. In addition, he counsels clients on compliance matters and risk mitigation strategies, including obtaining SAFETY Act liability protection for anti-terrorism technologies.

Mr. Freling has been recognized by Law360 as a “Rising Star” in government contracts. He is sought after for his regulatory expertise and ability to apply that knowledge to the transactional environment. He routinely serves government contracts counsel in corporate deals involving a contractor or grantee. Mr. Freling has deep experience leading due diligence reviews, negotiating transaction documents, and assisting with integration and other post-closing activities. He has been the lead government contracts lawyer in dozens of M&A deals, with a combined value of more than $20 billion.

Mr. Freling is a Co-Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the ABA’s Public Contract Law Section.

Honeywell in the sale of its government services business, Honeywell Technology Solutions, to KBR.

KeyPoint and Vencore in their combination with the U.S. Public Sector business of DXC Technology to form Perspecta.

Lindsay Goldberg in its acquisition of PAE from Lockheed Martin, its investment in ECS Federal, and its sale of PAE to Platinum Equity.

Magellan Health in its acquisition of Armed Forces Services Corp.

PAE in its acquisitions of A-T Solutions, CSC’s Applied Technology Division, and Defense Support Services.

The Pohlad family in its acquisition of PaR Systems from MML Capital Partners.

Sapient in its sale to Publicis Groupe.

Veritas Capital in its acquisitions of Alion Science and Technology, Guidehouse, Peraton, and SolAero Technologies.

Verscend in its acquisition of Cotiviti.

Other Government Contracts and SAFETY Act Matters

Bid protests involving state and federal procurements. Represented The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company during its successful challenge to North Carolina’s award of a statewide tire contract.

Represented several technology companies in bid protest litigation at the GAO and Court of Federal Claims.

Achieving liability protection for anti-terrorism technologies. Represented several sports and entertainment venues during their successful efforts to obtain SAFETY Act protection from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for their respective security programs. Represented two professional sports leagues in renewing SAFETY Act protection for their respective league-wide venue security standards, training, and compliance programs.

Complex claims and termination matters. Represented a large construction company during its successful resolution of multiple contract claims and terminations related to construction work in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Represented a large software reseller during the settlement of a multi-million dollar Contract Disputes Act claim against the U.S. Department of Defense.

Contractor investigations and disclosures. Conducted multiple internal investigations for an IT services contractor, addressing a variety of issues including alleged self-dealing by a senior executive and unauthorized access to information systems. Assisted a global health organization with over fifteen Inspector General disclosures of suspected wrongdoing.

Compliance counseling. Counseled a large supplier of automotive components on Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act and other sourcing restrictions applicable to contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and original equipment manufacturers.

Protection of IP rights. Counseled a technology and analytics company during its formation of a government contracts business, addressing such matters as strategies for protecting preexisting intellectual property.

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a bid protest decision regarding the application of Buy American Act (BAA) requirements to a solicitation for construction. In this decision, GAO rejected the agency’s determination that an offeror’s bid was nonresponsive because the offeror failed to provide certain required information for the ...

SILICON VALLEY—Covington advised GlaxoSmithKline on its multi-year collaboration with and $300 million equity investment in 23andMe.
GSK will become 23andMe’s exclusive collaborator for drug target discovery programs. The collaboration will focus on research and development of innovative new medicines and potential cures using human genetics as the basis for ...

WASHINGTON—Covington advised Elbit Systems Ltd. in its $120 million acquisition of the assets and operations of the privately owned U.S. company, Universal Avionics Systems.
Elbit Systems is an international high technology company engaged in a wide range of defense, homeland security, and commercial programs throughout the world.
Universal Avionics is a ...

Inside U.S. Trade's Daily Report highlights a Law360 article by the firm's Government Contracts lawyers regarding President Trump's "Buy American and Hire American" Executive Order. The firm's lawyers predict an increased "emphasis on procuring domestic end products" and state that "it will be prudent" for contractors and manufacturers "to take a fresh look at ...

Earlier this week, colleagues in our Government Contracts Group published an article about a recent Trump Administration memo regarding the “assessment and enforcement of domestic preferences in accordance with Buy American Laws,” and which follows the Administration’s April 2017 Buy American Executive Order. In the article, Justin Ganderson, Scott Freling, ...

Scott Freling is quoted in a Bloomberg BNA article discussing why defense contractors should prepare for a possible government shutdown. According to Freling, a certain amount of complacency, especially in the Washington area, has crept into companies regarding brinksmanship surrounding federal funding deadlines. “My sense is that contractors are refreshing ...

President Donald Trump took a significant step this week toward implementing his often touted objective of protecting U.S. manufacturers and workers by signing the “Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American” on April 18, 2017. In addition to addressing reforms to the H1-B visa program to protect U.S. workers, the EO sets forth a policy and ...

Scott Freling is quoted in this National Defense article exploring the DOJ and FTC joint statement on preserving competition in the defense industry. According to Freling, the interagency truce should “provide some comfort” to defense contractors that mergers and acquisitions can go forward, albeit “under the right circumstances.”
Brown adds, the statement ...

Scott Freling is quoted in a Federal Contracts Report article regarding a recent COFC ruling that allowed Starry, an IT firm challenging solicitation cancellation, to depose HHS officials due to an alleged bias. According to Freling, allegations of bias often fail to gain traction during bid protest litigation because it is difficult to allege sufficient ...

As part of an ongoing Department of Defense (“DoD”) effort to increase its energy efficiency, late last month the U.S. Army committed to develop its largest renewable energy project to date — a 65MW wind and solar project at Fort Hood. This ambitious project will need to comply with the latest DoD rules regarding sourcing...… Continue Reading

Scott Freling and Justin Ganderson are quoted in a Bloomberg BNA article discussing House and Senate energy policy bills with provisions intended to boost performance contracting and make the government more energy efficient. Ganderson argues that even though some of the energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) provisions were eliminated, congressional ...

Last week the Savannah River Site (“SRS”) in South Carolina, a large nuclear facility owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”), went into a lock down after electronic and canine scans of a commercial delivery truck attempting to enter the facility indicated possible explosive residue on the vehicle. Fortunately, the lock down was lifted...… Continue ...

We have already seen tremendous fallout from recent cyber attacks on Target, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Sony Pictures, and J.P. Morgan. Now imagine that, instead of an email server or a database of information, a hacker gained access to the controls of a nuclear reactor or a hospital. The potential consequences are devastating:...… Continue ...

Earlier this week, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a proposed rule to revise (and make stricter) the unique sourcing requirements applicable to certain photovoltaic devices that are used in the performance of DoD contracts. Specifically, unless an exception under the Trade Agreements Act applies or a contractor secures a waiver based on public ...

Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), U.S. Forest Service, Department of Energy, and General Services Administration (“GSA”) released a final solicitation for the Federal Aggregated Solar Procurement Project (“FASPP”). Through the FASPP, these agencies seek to acquire cost-effective solar electricity at nine federal sites located ...

WASHINGTON, DC, April 8, 2015 — Law360 has named Covington & Burling’s Scott Freling a recipient of its “Rising Star” award in the government contracts category. The award honors lawyers under the age of 40 whose “legal accomplishments belie their age.”
In its profile of Mr. Freling, Law360 wrote that he is “one of today’s go-to experts in the mergers and ...

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it has recovered $1,914,681.50 in back wages and fringe benefits allegedly owed to 147 workers of a Nevada-based company that provided construction services as a subcontractor at the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a federally supported solar power development located near Tonopah, Nevada. The DOL ...

On October 17, 2014, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy issued a solicitation for proposals to construct and operate a large-scale renewable energy project at Fort Hood in Texas, the U.S. military’s largest active duty armored post. The Fort Hood project is part of the efforts of the Army Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI), which...… Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC, October 1, 2014 — Covington & Burling is pleased to announce that it has elected 15 lawyers to its partnership effective today. “Our new partners come from six firm offices and practice in a variety of areas that are of great importance to the firm’s clients,” said Timothy Hester, chair of Covington’s management committee. “These are all superb ...

On July 3, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a final solicitation for the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Projects Loan Guarantee Program. As we previously reported with respect to the draft solicitation issued on April 16, 2014, the Program is expected to make up to $4 billion in loan guarantees available for...… Continue Reading

Last week, the White House announced a goal of acquiring $2 billion in energy efficiency upgrades at federal buildings over the next three years. This $2 billion goal is in addition to existing commitments that the Obama Administration made in 2011, under which $2.7 billion has already been committed to fund energy efficiency upgrades. The new...… Continue ...

The Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a draft solicitation yesterday for a new Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Projects Loan Guarantee Program. Once finalized, the Program is expected to make as much as $4 billion in loan guarantees available to innovative clean energy technology projects that are not currently in commercial use. Based on DOE’s...… ...

Earlier today, the U.S. Army’s Energy Initiatives Task Force announced that 20 new contractors have been awarded Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (“MATOCs”) for future renewable energy development projects at Department of Defense (“DoD”) installations. These contract awards by the Army Corps of Engineers are part of the Corps’ $7 billion “Renewable and ...

Earlier today, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an interim rule that seeks to clarify when a contractor may use a non-U.S. manufactured photovoltaic (PV) device in certain government contracts. The rule offers guidance to contractors in determining whether a PV device qualifies as a permissible “designated country” device, explaining that the test should ...

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2012 — Covington & Burling LLP advised the University of California, Santa Cruz on the creation of a national, federally-financed bioinformatics database. The database will serve as a secure repository for storing, cataloging, and accessing cancer genome sequences, alignments, and mutation information from leading cancer-related projects ...

NEW YORK, NY, July 16, 2009 — Snow Phipps Group, LLC, a private equity firm, announced on July 7 that it had completed the acquisition of ITS Holding Company (ITSolutions), a leading information technology services provider to US government civilian, national security, and intelligence agencies, along with Mr. Stefan Lalos, co-founder and CEO of ITSolutions. ...

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Covington & Burling LLP operates as a limited liability partnership worldwide, with the practice in England and Wales conducted by an affiliated
limited liability multinational partnership, Covington & Burling LLP, which is formed under the laws of the State of Delaware in the United States
and authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 77071.
The practice in Johannesburg is conducted by an affiliated limited company Covington & Burling (Pty) Ltd. The practice in Dublin Ireland is through a general affiliated Irish partnership, Covington & Burling and authorized and regulated by the Law Society of Ireland with registration number F9013.